Thursday, December 20, 2012

3) Landmark - Apollo Ghosts (TOP 20 OF 2012)

That Apollo Ghosts,
after achieving Skeleton Crew Quarterly’s crushing 90% score in the spring,
don’t have the numero uno spot on this year-end list says more about the SCQ
office than it does about Landmark. Nothing says “black sheep” like a punk-fueled,
impossibly catchy rock record surrounded by a growing proclivity for
post-classical, ambient, sad-sack, etc-music but Apollo Ghosts made it stick
with a ripe grove of riffs for the plucking. “What Are Your Influences?”
spearheads an uninterrupted flow of tight guitar-rock and creative bluster
without getting caught in ego or self-seriousness.

Perhaps you haven’t
noticed but “indie-rock” has gradually become an oxymoron in parlance with
popular music’s changing tide. To see that something has been lost amid the
Grammy wins and high-profile crossover collaborations isn’t being contrary or
snobbish; it’s understanding that embracing the mainstream means leaving the
core need for independent music. Apollo Ghosts aren’t penning a new genre or
stirring the cultural pot counter-clockwise but with “Weekend Fantasy”, “Why
Can’t I Be the Man On Stage?”, “Guitar Brother” and virtually everything on
show here, they’re a fresh reminder why real indie-rock cannot be topped. Oh,
and you can grab that – for free, even – right here.